Shared Reading Teaching Points 1

Contents

Guided Reading Teaching Sequence 2

Questions for Guided Reading KS2 5

Shared and Guided Reading of Fiction and Poetry 7

Shared and Guided Reading of Non-fiction 10

Shared and Guided Writing 13

Shared and Guided Writing of Non-fiction 17

Shared Reading Teaching Points

Book language: title, author, illustrator, cover, page, contents, index
Locating print on the page
Locate where to start reading; left to right, top to bottom, front to back
Noticing spaces between words, practising one-to-one matching
Identifying and responding to punctuation, speech bubbles etc
Identifying letters and relate to phonics session
Identifying words – choose words of the week as focus
Identifying the first and last letters of a word
Understand ‘word’ and ‘sentence’

Identifying upper and lower case letters in the text
Capital letter ‘I’ for personal pronoun
Locating high frequency words in text
Demonstrating use of punctuation eg. Question mark, full stop, capital letters, commas, speech marks
Identifying word endings
Breaking words into syllables
Spelling patterns eg. silent letters, igh etc
Identifying rhyming words, generating spelling patterns
Extending knowledge of word classes and connectives

Developing knowledge of grammar eg. agreement of tenses, s/he

Demonstrate use of non-fiction text – contents and index, organisational devices eg. lines, boxes, keys, subheadings
Focus on all levels of comprehension: literal, inferential, evaluative, critical – asking questions
Model text for future writing

Guided Reading Teaching Sequence

Book introduction
Walk through the text
Strategy Check
Independent reading
Returning to the text for teaching points
Responding to the text and follow up

The Book Introduction

Identification of the text type and objectives for the session
Relate the story to the children’s own experience (fiction)
Tap into the children’s prior knowledge of the subject (non-fiction)
Very brief overview of the story without revealing too much
Look at front cover and encourage prediction – who? Where? What?
Look at back cover and blurb
Note font size, layout, length
Look at illustrations

Prompts for the ‘Walkthrough’

Ask open questions about the text and characters –‘ why do you think…?’
Note children’s questions, predictions and ideas on a whiteboard
List what the children already know if it is a non-fiction book
Don’t read it to them
Model language patterns that may be unfamiliar
Pick up key words
Encourage prediction
Occasionally dip into the text and address letter-sound relationships or clusters

Strategy Check Phonics

Use the initial letter to help you think of a word that makes sense
Build the word up, then blend the phonemes together
Look for familiar clusters, digraphs or trigraphs within the words

Grammatical Knowledge

Rerun from the beginning of the sentence and use awareness of grammar to predict words
Use awareness of the need for grammatical agreement
Use the punctuation to get meaning from the text
Look for familiar prefixes and suffixes
Read on to the end of the sentence and look for clues

Context

Look carefully at the pictures
Have the confidence to make a guess, then check it makes sense
Read the sentence aloud to check it makes sense
Predict what the word might be from what’s already happened
Rerun from the beginning of the sentence
Use prior knowledge of the genre to predict words/phrases
Use any predictable patterns in the language, e.g. rhyme
Read on to the end of the sentence and look for clues

Word Recognition and Graphic Knowledge

Look at the shape of the word
Look for words within words
Read the word in ‘chunks’, then blend them together
Locate high frequency or familiar words
Use analogy with known words to solve new words
Use letters of own name

Prompts for Independent Reading

Were there enough words?
Read it with your finger this time.
Read it again to see if you can make the words match.
Were you right?
Where is the tricky word? (after an error)
What did you notice? (after they have stopped)
Would ……….. fit there?
Would ………. make sense?
Do you think it looks like ……… ?
It could be ………. but look at ……….
Check it. Does it look right and sound right to you?

Prompts for word solving/attack

Do you see a word you know?
Check the picture
What happened in the story?
What would make sense in the sentence there and sound right?
What would you expect to see at the beginning of ……..
Can you see a word inside the word that you know?
Is it like a word you already know?
Blend the first two sounds, re-run and get your mouth ready for the …………

‘Returning to the text’ prompts

Show me where to start reading
Show me how you point as you read
Show me where I go when I finish reading this line
Show me a word
Show me a letter
Circle a word that starts with …..
Put this word card under the word …..
Look through your word window and find the word …..
Can you make this word with your letters?

Finger frame a sentence on page
Put a counter under a capital letter on page …
Put a counter on a full stop on page ….
Can you find a lower case …..to match capital …..
Can you re-read the bold print on page …..?
Can you find speech bubbles, speech marks?
Can you find a long word on page
Help me break it into syllables
Can you find a word that rhymes with …..?
Can you find a word that starts with the blend …..?

Recall Questions

Where does the story take place?
When did the story take place?
What did he/she look like?
Who was he/she?
Where did he/she live?
Who are the characters in the book?
Where in the book would you find?

Prompts for responding to the text

Make your new book into a caption or concertina book
Complete a worksheet about sequencing the story, high frequency words, characters, etc
Play a game using text from the book
Re-order chopped up sentences or words from the book
Write your own story based on the book and illustrate
Re-tell the story with finger puppets
Re-read familiar texts with the same high-frequency words
Paint a picture of a favourite character, part of the story, etc

Questions for Guided Reading Sessions – KS2

Recall Questions

Where does the story take place?
When did the story take place?
What did s/he/it look like?
Who was s/he/it?
Where did s/he/it live?
Who are the characters in the book?
Where in the book would you find…?

Simple comprehension questions

What do you think is happening here?
What happened in the story?
What might this mean?
Through whose eyes is the story told?
Which part of the story best describes the setting?
What words and/or phrases do this?
What part of the story do you like best?

Application Questions

Can you think of another story which has a similar theme; eg. good over evil; weak over strong; wise over foolish?
Do you know of another story which deals with the same issues; eg. social; moral; cultural?
Which other author handles time in this way; eg. flashbacks; dreams?
Which stories have openings like this?

Analytical Questions

What makes you think that?
What words give you that impression?
How do you feel about…?
Can you explain why …?
I wonder what the writer intended?
I wonder why the writer decided to…?
What do these words mean and why do you think the author chose them?
Has the author used adjectives to make this character funny?
Why did the author choose this setting?

Questions requiring synthesis

What is your opinion? What evidence do you have to support your view?
Using all the evidence available, can you tell me what you feel about…?
Given what you know about … what do you think?
How would the views put across in this text affect your views on…?
What would this character think about…? (Possibly a present day issue)

Evaluation questions

What makes this a successful story?
What opinion do you have to justify your opinion?
Does it work?
Could it be better? How?
Is it as good as…?
How is it similar to…?
How is it different to…?
Is it as good as…?
Which is better and why?

Prompts for Shared and Guided Reading of Fiction and Poetry

Plot

How long did the story take?
Did the events happen in the order we are told about them in the story?
Why do you think the writer chose to tell us about events in this order?
Are there some parts of the story that happen in a short time but take a long time to describe?
Are there some parts of the story that happen over a long period bur are told very quickly?
Can you identify the different complications in this story?
Which event provides the story’s climax?
How is the story resolved?

Setting

Where did this story take place?
Is the setting really important to the story or could it have happened anywhere?
Was the setting for this story familiar or unfamiliar to you?
Did you get a really clear picture of where this story was set?
Do any words or phrases help you to imagine the place where the story was set?
Do any words or phrases provide an indication of the time when this story is taking place.
Does the setting have any effect on the characters’ behaviour?
Compare and contrast different settings in stories
Does the film version match how you imagined the one in the story?

Point of View

Who is telling this story?
How do you know who is telling the story?
Is the story told in the first or third person?
Do you think the story would feel different if told in the first/third person?
Who do you feel closest to in this story? Can you say why?
Through whose eyes do you think you are seeing this story?
When you were reading, did you feel you were part of the story or did you feel you were an observer? Why?

How do you think another character might view the events in this story?

Character

Which character did you feel closest to in this story? Why?
Which character did you find most interesting? Why?
Did you dislike any of the characters in this story? Why?
Were you reminded of anyone you know by the characters in this story?
Do any words or phrases help to build a picture of this character?
Do you learn about the character from their appearance, what they say or what they do?
Did you learn about the character from the way in which other characters responded to him/her?
Did your opinion of the character change while you were reading?

Subject and Theme

(trials and forfeits, good over evil, weak or strong, wise over foolish, overcoming fear, secrets, social, moral or cultural issues, dilemmas etc)

Can you suggest some words to summarise what this story means to you?
Does this story remind you of any personal experience/something that has happened to you?
Does this story have a message? Do you know of any other stories that have a similar message?

Style

Was there anything you particularly liked or disliked about the way in which this story was told?
How did the author try to capture your interest in the first four lines of this story?
Which words or phrases have been used to develop an atmosphere of suspense/mystery?
Are any words or phrases repeated? What effect does this create?
Compare the way in which different authors write dialogue?
Does the author tell you what the character is thinking or do you have to work this out from other clues and hints?
Can you tell from the first paragraph what kind of story we are reading? How?

Poetry

Form – rhyme:

Do you hear any repeating patterns in this poem?
Can you predict what word the poet might have used here?

Form – rhythm:

Can you hear any patterns in this poem when we clap the rhythm?
Can you predict the rhythm of the last line if I clap the first three lines?

Figurative language:

Describe/draw the pictures that the poem creates in your mind
Find examples of simile/metaphor
Find examples of alliteration/personification
Describe the effect

Language – word play:

Do you notice anything special or unusual about the words the poet has used?
Are there any words that could mean two things?

Language – vocabulary:

Are there any words or phrases that you particularly like?
What do you feel when you read this poem? Sad? Angry?
Are there any words or phrases that stick in your mind?
Has the poet used any words that we no longer use?

Shared Reading of Non-Fiction Text

Identifying Non-Fiction Structure

What’s the purpose of this book? Why would you read it?
Does the book have a central character?
What makes it different from a story?
Does this book have chapters?
How has the author organised the material in the book?
What could you find out from this book?
How do you know if the information is accurate?
How do you know if the author is an expert?
Compare the contents page of a fiction and non-fiction book.
Look at the bibliography. Why might this be useful?

Headings and Subheadings

Where could you find out about …. in this book?
Is there another way? What’s the quickest way?
How many levels of headings and subheadings does this book have? Are they statements or do they ask questions?
Which engage the reader more effectively?
Do you notice any of the headings when you scan the text?
Do the headings describe the information that follows?

Index

What’s the difference between the index and the contents?
If you want to find out about ….. how could you do it?
What’s the best place to look for information about ….?
If you can’t find information in the contents, where else might you look?
If there isn’t an entry in the index, what might you do to find out about ….?
How could I use the search engine to find out about….?
Why are the sites found organised in this order? Why are ‘hot links’ useful?

Glossary

Compare the definitions of …. given in the glossary of at least two books. Which one is clearer?
When you were doing research about …. Were there any words that you looked up in the glossary? Was the glossary helpful?

Do you think the letter writer is a friend of the person who will receive it? Why? Why not?
What words give you a clue that this is a formal letter?
How would this biography be different if the subject had written it?
Which formal words would you not use if you were writing to a friend?
Why has the author set out the instructions like this? Could they have been written any other way?
How could this be made to sound more friendly and informal?
How could this be made to sound more formal and serious?

Jargon

Does this sound complicated?
Could you write this in simpler terms?
Which words and phrases tell you that the author is describing ………..? Why did he use the technical language ……………….. and ………………….?

Cohesion

Highlight the words that tell you which order to follow – e.g. first, then, after, finally

Why are these words useful to the reader?
Which words indicate that some people think differently about this issue? E.g. however, although. on the other hand.
What are the main ideas in this paragraph and how are they related?
Which idea in this paragraph is linked to the next paragraph?

Perspective

Which article/letter would most persuade you to change your mind? Why?
Which words/phrases were most powerful in persuading you to change your mind?
Has one author given information in their book that the other has not? What has been left out? Is it important?
Have the authors presented the information in different ways? Which is the most effective? Why?
Whose viewpoint is being presented here? Whose has been left out?
What does the writer want to persuade you to do/think?
Who is the advert trying to persuade?
Can you tell what the author thinks?

Reference Texts